ABSTRACT

Following its move to VH1 in 2017, Season 9 of RuPaul’s Drag Race (RPDR) was positioned to capture a larger audience than ever before, boasting the strongest field of competitors in its ‘herstory’. This article maps the career trajectory of Season 9 winner Sasha Velour to determine how she distinguishes herself from previous champions. While winners of RPDR are expected to possess the virtues of charisma, uniqueness, nerve, and talent, Velour’s articulation of fame post RPDR has been informed by charisma and uniqueness, coupled with a consistent performance of an ‘authentic’ persona. Since winning Season 9, Velour has been an outspoken advocate for the transgender community and the need to diversify drag, in addition to drawing attention from the mainstream fashion industry for her art and style. Drawing inspiration from RPDR’s virtues, I argue that the performance of charisma and uniqueness are essential to interpreting the success of the drag celebrity persona as part of the ‘fame cycle’ beyond RPDR. Velour’s star image is distinctive for centring art and activist performance as vital to her public persona across transmedia platforms, allowing for the promotion of positive change for the LGBTQIA community worldwide.

摘要

在2017年转为VH1之后，RuPaul的Drag Race（RPDR）第9季定位为吸引比以往任何时候都更多的观众，在其``传奇''中拥有最强大的竞争对手。本文绘制了第9季获奖者Sasha Velor的职业轨迹，以确定她如何与之前的冠军区分开来。预计RPDR的获胜者将具有魅力，独特性，神经和才能的美德，而RPDR后Velour的声名fa起具有魅力和独特性，再加上“真实”角色的稳定表现，使我们受益匪浅。自从赢得第9季以来，Velor一直是跨性别者社区的直言不讳的倡导者，除了吸引主流时尚界对其艺术和风格的关注外，她还要求多样化的阻力。我从RPDR的美德中汲取灵感，我认为魅力和独特性的表现对于解释阻力名人角色作为RPDR之外的“成名周期”的成功至关重要。Velour的明星形象对于集中艺术和活动家表现十分独特，这对跨媒体平台的公众角色至关重要，从而促进了全球LGBTQIA社区的积极变革。